Germany bases its policy towards Greece and Cyprus on stereotypes of idleness
and criminality, according to a German MEP of Greek descent who says he is
quitting politics as a result.

Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, a MEP with Germany’s Free Democrats, declared that he is quitting German politics over his country’s treatment of its European partners, citing the Cyprus bail-out as the last straw.

He told the Daily Telegraph: “Politics should respect people and not only geopolitical and financial interests.” The case of Cyprus, in which the EU warned that it would withhold bailout loans unless depositors shared in the cost of the rescue, has “provoked an intense euro-sceptic reaction,” Mr Chatzimarkakis said.

After an outcry, savers in Cyprus with less than 100,000 euros will be spared, but the levy on larger depositors will cause intense damage to the Mediterranean island’s economy, which is dependent on offshore banking.

Mr Chatzimarkakis, 46, whose party is the junior member of Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition, said: “Germany has proven several times during the last three years that it is feasible to change course. My decision not to pursue an active role in Germany is linked to the fact that German politicians have ignited a fire in our European house. It has nothing to do with the German citizens whom I greatly respect.”

Mr Chatzimarkakis accused German politicians, including his own party, of belittling Greece. He said that within his own party, ideas such as “sell your isles and the Acropolis” had been circulated as measures to pay off Greek debt. "They were so extreme that I couldn't go to the party's convention.”

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“It's very difficult to push through messages that don't fit stereotypes - such as that Greeks work very hard, even more than Germans. That doesn't enter the Germans' minds,” he said in an earlier interview with a Greek news agency.

“They want the lazy Greek as a stereotype, Cypriots as gangsters, [a] country and people who must be punished.”

The MEP, who was born in Dusiburg in the Ruhr area of Germany and holds both Greek and German citizenship, left open the question of how he would influence the debate after quitting the European parliament. “Being a parliamentarian is one means, there might be others as well. It depends on the course Europe is taking in the future.”

Giving an example of an occasion when Germany had changed course over the euro-crisis, he referred to Berlin’s acquiescence over a more active role for the European Central Bank. Germany feared that allowing the ECB to print more money as a way out of the debt crisis would only lead to inflation.

“The restrictive attitude towards a stronger role of the ECB… was abolished to allow an active role,” the MEP said.

Mr Chatzimarkakis, who will not seek re-election when his term as an MEP ends next year, made his anger over the Cyprus bail-out plain when he accused the EU’s decision-makers of ‘neo-imperialism’ in a recent comment piece for the newspaper Handelsblatt.

“Reaching for the deposits of Cyprus’ small savers was… a violation of European values, of the rule of law and solidarity,” he wrote. “The way in which porcelain has been broken in recent months is unprecedented. In particular the small EU states must have the impression that they are nothing more than the playthings of the big ones. We don’t make progress in Europe with neo-imperialism.”

There is disagreement in Europe over whether Cyprus could be a model for future bailouts. Berlin favours making investors and savers share in the costs alongside taxpayers, but euro-zone central bankers have insisted that Cyprus is a special case.

Unemployment figures published this week once again exposed the gap between the north and south of the euro-zone. Spain and Greece suffer from unemployment rates above 26 per cent, while Germany’s joblessness rate has fallen year-on-year to 5.4 per cent, according to the EU’s official statistics agency.

The economic gap and the fractious politics of eurozone rescue have fuelled old national rivalries.

A poll published on Wednesday underlined German discontent over the perceived ingratitude of their neighbours; 79% of those polled for Stern magazine thought protests against the German government in southern Europe were unjustified. Just 16% sympathized with the public protests.

A spokesman for the Free Democrats declined to comment on the MEP’s remarks before speaking to Mr Chatzimarkakis. Two years ago, the University of Bonn stripped the MEP of his doctorate after an investigation into allegations of plagiarism.